Jeb Bush Forced to Bus Supporters From Washington D.C. to CPAC as Attendees Walk Out On Him

Jeb Bush Forced to Bus Supporters From Washington D.C. to CPAC as Attendees Walk Out On Him

It sounds like Jeb Bush’s supporters are taking CPAC pretty seriously this year. Emails provided to Slate show that backers of the former Florida governor are busing supporters from downtown Washington D.C. to CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland, and organizing to get them day passes into the event.

One long-time CPAC insider said these organized efforts impressed him, and that he didn’t know of any other potential 2016 candidates busing backers in. Perhaps that’s because no other potential candidates are worried about the regular crowd turning against them—the Washington Times reports today that some CPAC attendees are planning “to stage an informal protest when he hits the stage.”

I mean it just doesn’t get much more pathetic than this. Jeb Bush has such little genuine support, he was forced to bus in supporters from ground zero of American cronyism, K Street in Washington D.C., in order to ensure phony applause at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

What else would you expect from a candidate so awful only a corporate lobbyists could love him…and believe me, they do.
Here’s are some excerpts from Slate:

It sounds like Jeb Bush’s supporters are taking CPAC pretty seriously this year. Emails provided to Slate show that backers of the former Florida governor are busing supporters from downtown Washington D.C. to CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland, and organizing to get them day passes into the event.

One of the emails that went out this morning was from Fritz Brogan, a former advance man for then-President George W. Bush who (per the Washington Post) co-hosted a fundraiser for Jeb’s Right to Rise PAC earlier this month. A Bush insider confirmed to Slatethat Bush’s Right to Rise PAC is helping organize the transportation.

“We strongly recommend arriving as early as possible to get a seat,” wrote Brogan in an email sent to undisclosed recipients. “Our ‘Early Rise’ team will be there at 7:30am onward helping reserve seats- if you want to join the early team, let me know.”

Brogan wrote that there were still available seats on buses leaving from K Street and Georgetown at noon on Friday to get to the event in time for Bush’s talk.

One long-time CPAC insider said these organized efforts impressed him, and that he didn’t know of any other potential 2016 candidates busing backers in. Perhaps that’s because no other potential candidates are worried about the regular crowd turning against them—the Washington Times reports today that some CPAC attendees are planning “to stage an informal protest when he hits the stage.”

Well it turned out that CPAC attendees did indeed stage a walkout on him at the conference on Friday. The National Review reports that:

Scores of CPAC attendees began to file out as soon as Jeb Bush started speaking with talk show host Sean Hannity this afternoon,which did eventually garner plenty of applause. After exiting the main auditorium at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the protesting attendees began chanting “USA, USA” and “Stand with Rand.”

Yes, applause from lobbyists bused in from K Street.

The Washington Times reported yesterday that some conservative activists were considering protesting Jeb’s speech. In anticipation of just such a walkout, Slate reported, Bush’s team began bussing in supporters from downtown Washington, D.C. Many of the buses were expected to depart from K Street, the heart of the lobbying industry in Washington. As Bush continued to answer questions from Hannity, more and more attendees filed out.